"How Inactivity and Junk Food Can Harm Your Brain" - Dennis Thompson
An unhealthy lifestyle can trigger inflammation throughout your body, which can then accelerate wear-and-tear on your brain, a new study suggests. This can cause faster declines in thinking and memory for folks who don't practice healthy habits that counteract inflammation. Regular exercise, a heart-healthy diet and good sleep could be important factors in staving off age-related declines in brain function, the study authors concluded. Given that, it's possible that long-term chronic inflammation could have longer-lasting effects on brain health. However, people shouldn't start taking anti-inflammatory meds like aspirin or ibuprofen on the assumption that the drugs will protect their brain health, warned Walker and Mary Sano, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Sano said, "There have been many studies examining anti-inflammatory agents in cognitive [thinking] diseases over the years, and the results have been modest to unimpressive." It shows the potential lifelong importance of reducing inflammation in your body by staying on top of chronic health conditions and living a healthy lifestyle.
— Mary Sano, PhD, Associate Dean, Clinical Research, Professor, Psychiatry, Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Additional Coverage:U.S. News & World Report; Doctors Lounge